Blue Jays Steal Win From Garnet
BALTIMORE -- A battle among two of the best front-court duos in the Centennial developed as expected, yet it was the back court play that was the deciding factor in a 78-45 Johns Hopkins victory over Swarthmore in Centennial women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Goldfarb Gymnasium.
Playing on the road for the first time this season, Swarthmore (2-3 overall, 1-1 CC) was led by freshman forward Kathryn Stockbower (Fort Washington, Pa. / Upper Dublin) who collected her fourth double-double in five games, scoring a game-high 15 points to go along with 12 rebounds. Teammate Karen Berk ’08 (Havertown, Pa. / Haverford) also tallied a double-double (the 34th of her career), posting 10 points and 11 rebounds while freshman wing Ceylan Bodur (Istanbul, Turkey / Robert College) contributed 11 points and six boards.
The Blue Jays (2-3 overall, 1-1 CC) put a three-game losing skid to rest, getting double-doubles from junior forward Kristin Phillips (Wilmington, Del. / Tower Hill) and freshman forward Lyndsay Burton (Long Valley, N.J. / West Morris Central). Phillips posted team-highs with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Burton contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Blue Jays out-rebounded Swarthmore 60-45 on the afternoon, including 33 offensive boards.
JHU guards Britni Lonesome (Baltimore, Md. / Baltimore Polytech) and Jonay Foster (Chicago, Ill. / Oak River Park Forest) had a hand in forcing 24 Swarthmore turnovers. Lonesome had 10 points, four steals and four assists while Foster scored while picking up three steals.
The Garnet found themselves in a 20-point hole early on but climbed back into the game early in the second half on the play of Bodur. She sparked an 11-2 Swarthmore run rolled out consecutive driving baskets to bring the Garnet within 43-30 at 16:30 and then knocked down a three from the top of the key to make it a ten-point game, forcing a JHU timeout.
A three-point play by Stockbower made the score 45-36 at 13:39 but JHU answered with a 9-2 run, capped by an offensive put-back by sophomore forward Monica Mitchell (Reynoldsburg, Ohio / Reynoldsburg). The Blue Jays tightened up on the defensive end, holding Swarthmore without a basket for the final 5:11.
The final margin was the Blue Jays largest, capped off by a three-pointer from sophomore guard Leigh McAdams) with 40 seconds left.
Johns Hopkins opened up an early 11-5 lead at 13:34 when Foster cruised in for a lay-up.
Two free throws from Stockbower and a lay-up by Pam Costello (Havertown, Pa. / Haverford) brought Swarthmore within four, 13-9 at 11:15.
Johns Hopkins pushed the advantage to nine, 18-9 after an offensive rebound put-back by and a three-pointer by junior guard Caitlin Sloane (Baltimore, Md. / St. Paul’s).
Sloane continued to hit from deep, sinking a triple from the right wing at 8:50 to give the Blue Jays a 24-13 advantage. The home team continued to pick up extra possessions with offensive rebounds and steals; Foster picked up her second steal and converted the fast-break lay-up for a 30-13 JHU lead with just over five minutes left in the half.
The Blue Jays hit 42.9% of their attempts from the floor and converted 13 Garnet turnovers into 14 points, holding a 41-22 lead at the intermission. A balanced scoring-attack was led by Foster (seven points) while three others posted six points in the first half.
Stockbower led the Swarthmore in the first half stat column with seven points and eight rebounds, including a 5-for-6 effort from the free throw line.
Swarthmore travels to Allentown, Pa. Tuesday night, taking on the Muhlenberg Mules in Centennial action starting at 7:30 p.m.